Check out the recaps for SOL girls’ soccer teams in action. Pennridge/CB East photos courtesy of Tracy Valko. Lower Moreland/Upper Moreland photos courtesy of Greg Zesinger and CR South/Neshaminy photos courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for galleries of all three games.
SOL Colonial
Pennridge 2, Central Bucks East 1
Emily Kriney isn’t all the way back, but she took a big step forward Thursday night.
Nearly a year removed from a season-ending knee injury, the Pennridge senior co-captain got a significant weight off her back by putting a ball in the back of the net. It turned out to be a big one for the host Rams as well, holding up as the game-winner in an early season thriller with the Patriots.
Now that scoring is out of the way, Kriney’s next milestone will be ditching her clunky knee brace and getting back to top speed.
“It was amazing, I really feel like I’ve been waiting an entire year for that,” Kriney said. “Ever since I got hurt, I’ve been wanting that so bad, since last October. I think the brace is holding me back, I think there’s another level but I’m getting there.”
Kriney and her teammates knew they were in for a battle as they opened their home schedule, and visiting East certainly delivered one. Fresh off a shutout win over Abington to open the season, the Patriots wanted to show they were ready to contend with the defending state champions within the conference.
East tested and challenged the Rams and while the Patriots left a goal off, they had plenty to be happy with in their performance.
“It’s totally unbelievable we have to play them so early, but it’s so rewarding because you have to really grow up quick in a game like this,” East coach Jake Nesteruk said. “They’re so fabulously coached and do everything right so it’s awesome to see our girls come in on the road, under the lights and just play a game where it’s back and forth.”
The sides traded momentum and control of the match all 80 minutes, with East giving it early, Pennridge responding and so on as the clock wound down. East keeper Skylar Gash and Pennridge keeper Sierra Shaeffer both faced tests in the first half, and it seemed like things were destined to go to break at a scoreless deadlock.
Then, a chance appeared and Rams sophomore Lindsey Balmer took it. The outside back, a new starter this year, hit a dipping and curling shot from distance that just eluded the grasp of Gash to give the hosts a 1-0 lead three minutes ahead of the half.
“It’s going to be like this every game the rest of the way,” Rams coach Audrey Anderson said. “I went to joke with Jake and said ‘doesn’t this feel like a playoff game’ and he said ‘I don’t know, I’ve never been there before.’ It blows my mind they haven’t and the way they’re playing now, they’re very, very good and I won’t be surprised to see them playing late in the season.”
East was down at half but far from out of the game. The Patriots came out of the break looking to take the game at the defending state champions and were rewarded for their bravado with an equalizer.
Forward Elise Duffy, who played a great game battling Rams center back Anna Croyle, got a clean look from the left side of the box and put it perfectly inside the far post just 70 seconds into the second half.
“That was absolutely the mindset,” Nesteruk said. “Our first 10 minutes of the half, we were sharp and we were dominant. Elise, she just had a lights-out game from the start and was just a handful turning, shooting and finishing. She does a lot of the work and it was a really, really good day for her.”
Center mid Sofia Mignon had a strong effort for East and the Patriots back line of Courtney Curry, Meredith Black, Olivia Kallelis and Chantel Van Dongeren earned plaudits from their coach for their play against Pennridge’s speedster forwards.
The Rams had a decision to make after being scored on, but Shaeffer knew her team had the resolve to answer.
“I feel like a game like this gets us ready for everything to come,” the senior keeper said. “We have to be ready for having a target on our backs. We just made sure we kept playing the same way and didn’t let it get to us, everybody knew the game was far from over.”
Five minutes later, Leah Malone hit the crossbar on a shot and Kriney could only put her follow-up try wide of goal. That wouldn’t deter the senior and gifted another chance soon after, Kriney was ready to sink it.
After Liv Grenda fought through the East defense, she slipped a ball to the right and found a wide-open Kriney in the box. From there, it was all placement, power and composure, which the strike had plenty of in reserve.
“I think it was more mental getting back on the field but having the team there with me, they’re so supportive and having them around really helped,” Kriney said. “We’ve been to the state title game two times since I’ve gotten to Pennridge and I’ve never gotten to play in that game, so that’s my goal this year and I think it’s the same for the rest of us.”
Kriney’s go-ahead goal still left 30 minutes on the clock and it was far from a stroll to the final whistle.
“I thought East was really good and came out really hard, but that’s what we expected from them,” Kriney said. “I think they’ll do very well this year, just based on the way they play.”
East surged back again, with Shaeffer coming up with two key saves and another brave play where she came out with a slide to take the ball away from Duffy after the East striker had broken through the back line.
“You definitely have to just go for it,” Shaeffer said. “You can’t second-guess yourself. If you hesitate, that’s where you get caught.”
Kriney said her doctors said she needed to keep the brace for a full year, but she’s more than ready to get rid of it. Until she can, she knows her team will have her back until she’s ready to hit full speed again.
“When I see, actually when anyone on our team sees things starting to go down, we all know we have to go get it back,” Kriney said. “That’s just how it goes with us. This was a good start to the season and to see where we’re at.”
Pennridge (2-0, 1-0 SOL) will host Quakertown on Saturday at 7 p.m. in a non-league contest. Central Bucks East (1-1, 0-1) will host Souderton on Tuesday.
PENNRIDGE 1 1 – 2
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 0 1 – 1
Goals: P – Lindsey Balmer, Emily Kriney; CBE – Elise Duffy
Central Bucks South 3, Souderton 0
Team ball movement and a very in-sync combo between a senior and freshman powered the Titans to a conference opening win.
“We continued to play as a team and moved the ball by building it through the back and up to our wingers and forwards,” Titans coach Amy Moriarty said. “We tried to keep the ball out of the middle where Souderton had solid, physical players by using speed and a variety of players to set up plays and combine.”
Colby Roach, the senior, played the role of facilitator by dishing three assists to the Julia Molnar, the freshman, who played the role of finisher. It was an efficient tandem as well, as all three goals were tallied in the first 20 minutes of play.
While the Indians made some adjustments, it was too much of a deficit for the hosts to rally out of.
“The team is still working hard to quickly gain experience with only four returning varsity starters,” Souderton coach Ian Smith said. “In the first half, the Indians had moments where they controlled the ball and looked sharp, but after giving up the first goal of the match, the team wavered, and South capitalized on a lack of communication with two goals in quick succession.”
Souderton made some adjustments at the break and Smith felt his team’s energy and communication went up in the final 40 minutes.
“Alexis Stefanowicz (junior) worked throughout the match to provide energy for the team in the middle of the field and helped the Indians regain their footing to keep the second half scoreless,” Smith said. “Abby Kolb (junior) worked tirelessly at the outside back position, turning possession into chances early on in the match, and eventually putting in a consistent shift defensively.”
South, which has a crop of newcomers on the team, got its entire roster on the field in the second half and experimented with different combinations. Moriarty lauded her entire group’s efforts to record the shutout and keep energy up, especially midfielders Lily Black, Mary Nangle and Alison Sauers.
It didn’t hurt that the Titans captains on defense were eager to see a zero at the end of the night.
“They were relentless in not giving Souderton any time to recover or gain momentum up the field,” Moriarty said. “The defense, led by captains Makayla Miller and Madelyn Tantum, held the line and fed great balls to outside backs Holly Joseph and Isabella Smouse.”
Central Bucks South (2-0, 1-0 SOL) will host Central Bucks West on Tuesday, and Souderton (0-2, 0-1) will host Archbishop Carroll in a non-league game Friday.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 3 0 – 3
SOUDERTON 0 0 – 0
Goals: Julia Molnar 3
North Penn 2, Central Bucks West 0
The Knights opened their new digs in style, but the afternoon belonged to Lauren Blanch.
An injury in the first game of the season last year, which also came against CB West, kept Blanch out for most of the season. She got her redemption by scoring both goals to send the Knights to a season-opening win at the rebuilt Crawford Stadium.
“Lauren just had great movement and was getting involved in a lot of passing combinations,” North Penn co-head coach Mike Rio said. “She also just wasn’t afraid to get in the box and get a couple hard-fought goals amongst a bunch of other girls.”
Both goals came in the first stanza of the game, with North Penn speeding out to a 2-0 lead inside the first 15 minutes.
“It was great for her to start the season on a big, positive note,” Rio said of Blanch. “The goals came off an assist from Kylie Holmes and a Rylie Saxman corner.”
The quick start by the hosts proved too much for the Bucks to rebound from.
“We got scored on twice in the first 15 minutes of the game, and we just couldn’t recover. We were playing from behind. The first half we were sloppy. We didn’t come out with any kind of purpose,” Bucks coach Mike Moyer said. “We just dominated the second half with chances and corner kicks and set pieces. We just couldn’t score until it was too little too late.”
Moyer believed his team had scored a goal in the final second of the game when Taylor Moyer hit a full volley in off a pass by Shea Lubin before the horn went off, but the officials ruled time had expired and the District 1 website, which is the official record, showed a 2-0 Knights win on Thursday night.
Movement was a theme for the Knights, not just limited to their goal-scorer.
“I thought our movement on and off the ball was fantastic and we did a great job opening up the passing lanes,” Rio said. “West had a strong plan defensively and it took a couple gritty goals in the box to get us the win.”
Anna Fiore recorded the shutout in goal for North Penn while Marissa Dacosta and Jamie Webb anchored the back line in repelling the Bucks.
“Our communication was great and we did a good job of keeping their dangerous players to the outside,” Rio said. “We didn’t give up too many good looks in the middle of the field and our outside mids worked back well to give support to the outside defenders.
“It definitely was a hard-fought, physical game and it’s great to get that first win of the season under our belt.”
North Penn (2-0, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Lansdale Catholic on Friday for a non-league game, and Central Bucks West (1-1, 0-1) will host Wilson on Saturday in a non-league game.
NORTH PENN 2 0 – 2
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 0 0 – 0
Goals: NP – Lauren Blanch 2
SOL Liberty
Abington 1, Upper Dublin 0
The first 40 minutes of the season weren’t kind to the Ghosts’ defense.
Since then? Abington has yet to allow a goal in its last three halves of soccer and the result Thursday was a narrow shutout win over the Cardinals.
“We played pretty sound defense, kept a clean sheet and both our goalies did well,” Abington coach Rick Tompkins said. “We scored fairly early then kept playing. We had a lot of chances we blew. Our offense still needs a lot of work but Upper Dublin is also a good team.”
The match, which was supposed to be an Upper Dublin home game, was played at Abington due to extensive damage from Hurricane Ida rendering UD’s facilities unusable for the foreseeable future. Despite falling short of the win, UD coach Chuck Gesing again lauded his team’s showing.
“I was pleased with the team’s effort. The work rate of forwards Alex Devers, Lily Kleiman and Ava Costanzo was quality,” Gesing said. “Abington scored on a missed UD pass out of the back to make it 1-0. The game could have gone either way. As long as we keep getting good effort, the results will come. Goalkeeper Rachel Adelman was solid again in goal.”
Lily Gray provided the match’s lone tally on what Tompkins described as a terrific individual effort.
“She went to the corner, cut across the 18 and went to the back post and beat the keeper,” Tompkins said. “It was a great shot. I’d love her to shoot more, but she’s so unselfish and I keep telling her ‘you can score goals if you take shots.’ So, she ended with one shot today.”
After giving up three goals to CB East in the first half of the season, the Ghosts have worked to firm up in the back around senior Caroline Hughes. Abington is again splitting keeper duties between Lannan Lare and Alexis Ditri, with Lare getting the busier first half on Thursday.
“I have some veterans but also some really young kids,” Tompkins said. “I have two freshmen, one starts and the other is the first sub off the bench, a decent number of sophomores and only a couple seniors.”
Tompkins was glad to see a goal as well, with Abington having to replace the prolific output of all-state pick Casey Touey, now a freshman at Drexel.
The veteran Abington coach also cited the play of senior Mei Mei Cheng for her tireless efforts on the field.
“The best player on the field was Mei Mei Cheng – she just worked her tail off,” Tompkins said. “At the end of the game, she said ‘I have a few cramps’ and I replied ‘I bet you do.’ I told her next time, I’ll try to get her more of a rest but she was just everywhere winning ball after ball.”
Abington (1-1, 1-0 SOL) will be on the road at Wissahickon on Tuesday, and Upper Dublin (0-2, 0-1) will travel to Quakertown on Monday.
ABINGTON 1 0 – 1
UPPER DUBLIN 0 0 – 0
Quakertown 2, Plymouth Whitemarsh 0
Playing at PW has been a tough task for the Panthers in recent seasons, but they were able to grab a solid win to open conference play there on Thursday.
“Our games have historically been a battle,” Quakertown coach Mike Koch said. “We’re similar in how we play stylistically and both play really hard. Both teams certainly played hard today so to get that win, it does make me happy.”
The Colonials have also been a stingy defensive team in recent years, so the Panthers went wide to try and break that area down. Koch felt his team was very strong getting the ball out to the flanks, then using it to stretch and challenge the defense.
“We had struggled with it in our scrimmages, but today it created many more opportunities for us,” Koch said. “Our two wide players were Kyla Frederick and Callie Abel. Kyla ended up with an assist and Callie played a great game. They were instrumental in getting us to those wide spaces.”
Freshman Rachel McMonagle turned a pass from Abel into a goal with 24 minutes left in the first half and it was all Quakertown needed thanks to Madison Peacher in an unusual way.
Peacher, who also kicks on the football team, played the first half in goal for Quakertown and posted a shutout effort. Short on numbers Thursday, Koch had her play the field in the second half and the senior ended up scoring an insurance goal with 10 minutes to go off Madison Kalinowski’s assist.
“That’s kind of a rare double and she’s generally not a field player but we needed her today,” Koch said. “Sometimes, goalkeepers have that knack of understanding what the other goalkeeper is doing. We definitely needed it, we’d been controlling the play but only had that one goal.”
Angela Calvanese and Mackenna Calabria were anchors on defense in front of goal for Peacher and then Darby Vail, who posted a second half shutout.
Quakertown (1-0 SOL) will travel to Pennridge for a non-league game Saturday, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (0-1) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday.
QUAKERTOWN 1 1 – 2
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 0 0 – 0
Goals: Q – Rachel McMonagle, Madison Peacher
Hatboro-Horsham 1, Wissahickon 0
It was a long time coming, but the Hatters finally got to take the field Thursday and made the most of it.
“With the tornado going through Horsham, we were shut down for close to a week of no practices and a postponed first game,” HH coach Kelsey Daley said. “The girls were very excited to play tonight. We were up against a very talented Wissahickon team and it was a very entertaining game to watch.”
The Trojans and Hatters have played some close, hard-fought games in the series and this was another to add to the list. After a scoreless first half, the teams got halfway through the second before a ball finally found its way home.
“We were able to find the back of the net in the second with a far post shot by Caroline Shegogue,” Daley said. “We have a lot of girls in new positions and a lot of new starters so we have to work on some things, but we were also able to have fun and come out with a win.”
Martine Royds, who made her return after missing last season due to injury and Sam Hollish combined for the shutout in goal.
Hatboro-Horsham (1-0 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday, and Wissahickon (0-2, 0-1) will host Abington on Tusday.
HATBORO-HORSHAM 0 1 – 1
WISSAHICKON 0 0 – 0
Goals: HH – Caroline Shegogue
SOL Patriot
Neshaminy 4, Council Rock South 1
There are a lot of familiar names populating the Neshaminy roster this fall.
Thursday, one of the new ones stole the show offensively. A hat trick by freshman Kylie Maxwell provided the finishing surge as the Redskins rallied to win their season opener, doubling as the first game of SOL Patriot play.
With so much continuity, plus a full preseason, Neshaminy is looking for good things.
“We worked so hard through the summer and into preseason, we have a good core of players but everybody really bought into the system,” Neshaminy coach Renny Papendick said. “It’s a program and a true team atmosphere.”
The Golden Hawks took an early lead after what Papendick called a little bit of a flat and disorganized start from his team and a good finish by South. Neshaminy reorganized, using a set piece and a few veterans to get back in the game.
“Our corner kicks were great,” Papendick said. “(Junior) Alexis Ocasio hits all our corners and does a phenomenal job and one of our seniors, Kiera Bradley, got on the end of an early corner kick and tied it up.”
From there, it was the Maxwell show for Neshaminy as the freshman striker bagged the next three goals to spur her team to a 3-1 halftime lead and then on to the win. Maxwell wasn’t the only impact freshman either, as her twin sister Taylor started at outside back.
“She had a hat trick in her first high school game, she’s very talented,” Papendick said of Kylie Maxwell. “Two of her goals were unassisted and the last was set up by Paige Borkowski on a really nice build-up.”
The sequence on the final goal, started with Bradley winning the ball at the back, summed up the type of play Neshaminy is after this season. Bradley then found center mid Carly Fox, who found Borkowski and the junior did the rest by making a run and slipping the final pass to Maxwell.
Papendick cited the play of his two senior defenders – co-captains Bradley and Jordyn Fregia – for shoring things up after the early CR South goal.
“We had a lot of chances, there are still a few things we have to work on but overall, it was a great first game for us,” Papendick said. “A lot of these kids, I’ve coached since they were young and it’s great to see their progression but also them buy into what we’re doing.”
Neshaminy (1-0 SOL) will be on the road at Pennsbury on Tuesday, and Council Rock South (0-1) will host Council Rock North on Monday.
NESHAMINY 3 1 – 4
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 1 0 – 1
Goals: N – Kylie Maxwell 3, Kiera Bradley
Pennsbury 4, Bensalem 1
The Falcons made sure they were ready for the start of SOL play with two tough games last weekend, then put those lessons to work on Thursday.
Ashley Rosati put Pennsbury up six minutes in, then Taylor Mays does what she does best and scored three straight goals to seal things up for her side. The benefits of games against Downingtown West and Unionville started to pay off.
“It was definitely a benefit to work through some early season kinks with two strong opponents. The girls were more confident in their roles and responsibilities on the field today and executed really well,” Falcons co-head coach Kaitlyn Battiste said. “Our defenders were disciplined with the slick surface and the speed of Bensalem’s attackers.”
Pennsbury’s finishers were locked in, with the Falcons going up 2-0 just 15 minutes in behind Rosati and Mays’ first, but the coach pointed to the rotation in the midfield as the reason for the chances in front of goal.
“Offensively, we showed creativity in the final third generating opportunities from numerous locations and positions on the field,” Battiste said. “Although Taylor finished with the hat trick, there was strong play through the midfield that gave her, Rosati and our other strikers the opportunities to capitalize.”
Lexi Cahill buried a chance for the Owls in the 64th minute, but only after Mays had scored two more times earlier in the second half. Outside of that, the Falcons’ back line was up to task.
“The coaching staff was a big fan of Rena Paoni’s defensive performance,” Battiste said. “Rylee Kauffman is becoming a vocal leader in the back; (Villa Joseph Marie transfer) Emma Erickson is playing well within our system and Jillian Haley has consistently worked hard on both sides of the ball filling in gaps where we need her.”
Pennsbury (2-1, 1-0 SOL) will host Neshaminy on Tuesday, and Bensalem (1-1, 0-1) will travel to Harry S Truman on Tuesday.
PENNSBURY 2 2 – 4
BENSALEM 0 1 – 1
Goals: P – Taylor Mays 3, Ashley Rosati
Council Rock North 8, Harry S Truman 0
The Indians rolled to a decisive win in their SOL season opener, using goals from seven different players.
“We have had a slow start to the season, so it was good to get another game in after all the days off this week,” CRN coach Gavin Flannigan said. “We got great minutes tonight from our younger players and it was good for them to get varsity time.”
Julianna Lanigan scored a pair of goals while Jayne Bogle, Maya Raghunandanan, Mia Cairone, Taylor Brennan, Alyssa Tyler and Kayla Raghunandanan each had a single tally.
“I have to applaud Carmela St Hilaire in goal for Truman tonight – she was fantastic throughout the game and made countless great saves all the way to the end,” Flannigan said.
Council Rock North (1-1, 1-0 SOL) will face Council Rock South at Walt Snyder Stadium on Monday (6 p.m.), and Harry S Truman (0-1) will host Cheltenham on Saturday.
Goals: CRN – Julianna Lanigan 2, Jayne Bogle, Maya Raghunandanan, Mia Cairone, Taylor Brennan, Alyssa Tyler, Kayla Raghunandanan
SOL Freedom
Upper Moreland 1, Lower Moreland 0
The Golden Bears jumped right into their season with a hard-fought win over their neighboring rival.
“This was a great competitive match–our ‘first game jitters’ showed a bit in the first half and we played a bit reactive rather than taking control,” UM coach Lisa Benvenuto said. “The momentum of the game was back and forth for both teams, and both teams had opportunities but just did not capitalize. Lower Moreland is a young team, but they should not be taken lightly.”
The teams traded chances and stands on defense for 70 minutes before Upper Moreland was able to create another opportunity and make the most of it thanks to a finish by Emma Frasca.
“With about eight minutes to go in the game Brooke Lobban put a diagonal ball through Lower Moreland’s back line, the ball took a deflection off a LM defender and Emma Frasca was able to beat everyone to the ball and finish,” Benvenuto said.
Natalie Walton recorded her first win and shutout of the season in goal, recording four saves for the Bears. In front of her, defenders Molly Meakim, Skye Kramer and midfielders Mallory Roedig and Willow Taylor were strong in keeping the clean sheet.
“We had some good contributions off the bench as well that really helped improve our possession and momentum, most notably from freshman Mikel Lancit,” Benvenuto said. “We are able to come out of today’s match with a better understanding of what we need to work on both individually and as a team.”
Upper Moreland (1-0 SOL) will travel to Cheltenham on Tuesday, and Lower Moreland (0-2, 0-1) will be on the road at Calvary Christian on Friday.
UPPER MORELAND 0 1 – 1
LOWER MORELAND 0 0 – 0
Goals: UM – Emma Frasca.
Springfield Twp 4, New Hope-Solebury 0
Sparked by a hat trick from Kaleigh Evans, the Lady Spartans opened their season with a shutout win over the Lions that also served as the SOL opener for both teams.
“It was a strong season opener,” Spartans’ coach Dan Malora said. “Airtight defense was the driving force behind today’s win. Shannon Meder, Tess Talbot, Kaalei Noonen and Sophie Williamson shut down all pressure that came into our end.
“Attacks were neutralized well and distributed through a confident midfield led by Emily Smith and Paige Robinson. A first-half hat trick by sophomore Kaleigh Evans put the Lady Spartans in the driver’s seat. We kept the pressure on all game long with Fiona Rizzo finding the back of the net late in the second half.”
Both Evans and Rizzo are sophomores.
Springfield Township (1-0 SOL) will be on the road at Mount St. Joseph’s Academy for a non-league game Monday.
Goals: S – Kaleigh Evans 3, Fiona Rizzo.
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